Hauling machine



April 17, 1951 Filed June 17, 1946 A. L. C. BLONDELLE HAULING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1951v A. L. c. BLONDELLE 2,549,163:

HAULING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1951 A. L. c. BLONDELLE 2,549,163

HAULING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 1951 A. L. c. BLONDELLE 2,549,163

HAULING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1946 5 Sheets-$heet 4 April 1951 A. L. c. BLONDELLE 2,549,163

HAULING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 17, 1951 HAULING MACHINE Abel Lo Charles Blondelle, Paris, France, assignor to Enterprises Metropolitaines Et Coloniales, Paris, Seine, France, a society of the Republic of France Application June 17, 1946, Serial No. 677,173 In France October 19, 1945 7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to hauling machines for railroad plants intended to permit the displacement of railway cars and other movable engines, and it is more especially, although not exclusively, concerned, among these machines, with hauling winches.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of this kind which is easily movable along tracks so as to permit of bringing it into the position where its working is most efficient, such a displaceable hauling machine being capable of replacing a relatively great number of fixed machines as were used up to the present time.

Other objects of my invention will result from the following detailed description of some specific embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a hauling winch made according to a first'embodiment of my inven tion;

Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the rolling system of this machine;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views, respectively on a line at right angles to the track and on a line parallel thereto, of some element of this machine;

Figs. 5 and 6 are an elevational view and a plan view, respectively, of a, hauling winch made according to another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. '7 is a vertical cross sectional view of the machine of Figs. 5 and 6;

Fig. 8 is a corresponding horizontal cross sectional View;

Fig. 9 is a corresponding part longitudinal sectional view.

According to my invention, the winch proper is of any suitable construction, including for instance, in the conventional way, an electric motor I which drives, through a speed reducing mechanism or gear box 2, a drum 3 on which is coiled the hauling cable 4.

According to my invention, this winch proper is mounted on a rolling support constituting a railway carriage adapted to be moved along the rails 5 of the railway track, and this support is arranged in such manner that the eifort exerted on cable 4 for ahauling operation produces a temporary locking of said support on the track, so that the winch can act in the same manner as a stationary winch, that is to say in the best possible conditions of fixation and stability.

Advantageously, the machine is devised in such manner that most of its weight is supported by one of the rails 5. The winding drum 3 may be located either'on the outside of the track, as in the embodiment of Fig. l, or on the inside, as in the embodiment of Fig. 5. V

In both cases, the weight of motor I is made approximately to balance that of drum 3 in such a manner that the center of gravity of the whole is located inside the track and in a vertical plane close to that of the rail 5 which is to support the major part of the weight, the rolling support then bearing on the other rail 5 through a mere carrier roller 6 which is relatively little loaded.

Anyway, the machine as a whole is reversible, i. e. the winch proper can be disposed at will on either of the rails 5.

The rolling support includes, in the embodiments shown by the drawing:

(a) A frame, constituted in the case of Fig. 1 by an assembly 1 and in that of Fig. 5 by a single cross bar I, carrying at one end roller 6 and, at the other end, the winch proper;

(b) A winch base '8 provided with rolling elements, constituted for instance by two rollers 9; and

(0) Means for locking the machine on the track every time a traction is exerted through cable 4, for a, hauling operation.

The locking means in question are preferably constituted by a device adapted to coact in a wedging manner with the rail that supports the major part of the weight of the machine, said locking means being therefore carried by base 8.

It will be readily understood that a wedge action locking device is particularly advantageous on the case of a hauling machine, since the intensity of the locking effect will then increase simultaneously with the hauling effort exerted by cable 4.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 4, the hauling effort exerted through cable '4 causes the whole of the machine to pivot about a vertical axis so as to bring into contact with the rail 5 that support the major part of the weight at least one friction part.

For this purpose, as shown by the drawing, base 8 is made of inverted U section so as to fit with a sufiicient play about the weight supporting rail 5. The inner walls of the flanges of this base carry toothed jaws H), pivotal about vertical axes Illa (see in particular Fig. 2). In the embodiment illustrated by the drawing, base 8 carries four jaws 10, two on either side of rail 5 their teeth being inclined in a given direction for two diagonally opposed jaws and in the opposed direction for the two other jaws. All these jaws are adapted to remain at a distance from the corresponding rail 5 as long as the machine is positioned in straight relation to the track.

In order to keep the machine in this straight position with respect to the rail, for instance when it is to run along said track,-base 8 is fitted with retractable guiding means for opposing pivoting thereof about a vertical axis. may be constituted, as shown by the drawing, by two upwardly retractable stirrup l l in the shape of inverted U respectively mounted at the front and rear ends of base 8 so as to be vertically slidable therein and the branches of which stirrups are at a distance from each other just a little greater than the width of the rail so as to ensure guiding without producing undue friction.

Screws Sa' carried by base 8 permit, by engagement in holes Ha of stirrups H, of holding the stirrup in retracted position (solid lines) This system works in the following manner: When. the machine is to be run along the track, stirrups I! are left in the lower position. The rolling support is kept in normal straight position with respect to the track and jaws" have practically no contact with'rail 5 (position shown by Figs. 3 and 4). When it is desired to perform ahauling operation, the machine is stopped at the proper position on the track, stirrups H are retractedupwardly, and cables is tied to the load to be hauled. The hauling effort, as soon as it takes-place, causes the whole of the machine to pivot about a vertical axis, which brings two diagonally opposed jaws into contact with rail-5 and wedges them against the sides of said rail, with a force which rises proportionally with the traction force (position shown by Figs. 1

and2) In the embodiment illustrated by Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive, the application against the rails of friction" elements, constituted for instance by toothed jaws iilanalogous to those above referred to, instead Lofbeingproduced by a pivoting movement of the-machine, is'obtained'as a consequence 'of a translatory displacement thereof (parallel to the track).

' In this case, the lateral wallsof base 8, at the endsthereof, converge toward rail 5, as shown by Fig.58, so that any translator-y longitudinal displacement ofsaid 'base with respect to jaws H] (the outer faces of which, adapted to cooperate with said. portions of the lateral walls to base 8, are similarly. inclined) wedgessaid jaws against therail so as to ensure the desired locking effect.

Jaws H! are provided with slots 54 in which are engaged transverse pin i3 carried by the lower ends .of levers i2 pivoted to base 8 about horizontal'axes parallel to said pins. Thus said jaws can be given the translatory displacements necessary for we'dging thenragainst the rail.

When. themachine is to be run along the track levers'i2 are in the positions shown as XY on Fig; 7, so that jaws it are in the positions shown on the right hand side of Fig. 8, out of contact with rail 5. In order to make use of the winch, themachine is stopped at the desired point of the track. The two levers |2 that are farther from the load to be hauled are then pivoted into the position shown. The corresponding jaws are then in the position shown by the left hand side of Figi'l. From this time on, the hauling effort ex- Said means 1 restore levers l2 into positions KY, and the ma chine will be again free to move on the track.

' It should be noted that, in a machine made according to the embodiment of Figs. 5 to 9, I may provide guiding and locking means on the side of the rolling support that is relatively but little loaded. For instance, as shownrby Figs. 5 and 6, the end in question of cross member 1' is provided with a clasping device adapted to engage the rail,-so-as to prevent tilting of the machine when the point where cable 4 is secured isrelatively high.

Of course, the'winch proper, together with its base could be mounted detachable from the remainder of the rolling support so as to permit, afterthey have been conveyed by said support to the desired point of the track, of removing them and suitably fixing them in suitable position with respect to the track.

The machine can advantageously be utilized on tracks running along a canal or a'wharf.

In a general manner, while'I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and efiicient embodiments of the presentinvention, it should be well understood that Ido not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hauling machine which comprises, in combination, a railway carriage, a motor winch mounted on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearer to one of the rails of the track on which said carriage is supported than to the other, with the winding drum of said winch on one: side of said first mentioned rail, a part rigid with said winch extending in the direction of said first mentioned rail, and at least two toothed jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed one ahead of the other and on opposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively, said part being 'pivotable with respect to'said rail about a'vertical-axis tdbring said jaws into frictional engagement with said rail.

erted by the winch'tends, by reaction, to wedge 2. A hauling machine which comprises, in combination, a railway carriage, a motor winch mounted on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearer to one of the rails of the track on which said carriage is supported than to the other, with the winding drum of said winch on one side of said first mentioned rail, a part rigid with said winch extending in the direction of said first mentioned rail, and at least four toothed'jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed in two pairs one ahead ofthe other, the two jaws of each pair being located on oposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively, said' part being pivotable with respect to said rail abouta vertical axis to bring two of said jaws into frictional engagement with said first mentioned rail.

3. A hauling machine which comprises, in combination, a railway carriage adapted .to be brought into oblique position with respect to the track by which it is supported, a motor winch mounted in fixed position on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearerto one of the rails of said track than to the other, with the winding drum of said winch located on one side of said first mentioned rail, -a"part-rigid with-said carriage extending in the 'directionaoi said first mentioned rail, and at least two toothed jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed one ahead of the other and on opposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively, so as to come into frictional engagement with said rail when said carriage is oblique to said track. 7

4. A hauling machine which comprises, in combination, a railway carriage having two wheels for running on one of the rails of the track by which it is supported and only one wheel for running on the other rail, whereby said carriage can be brought into oblique position with respect to said track, a motor winch mounted in fixed position on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearer to the first mentioned rail than to the other, with the winding drum of said Winch located on one side of said first mentioned rail, a part rigid with said carriage extending in the direction of said first mentioned rail, and at least two toothed jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed one ahead of the other and on opposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively, so as to come into frictional engagement with said rail when said carriage is oblique to said track.

5. A hauling machine which comprises, in combination, a railway carriage adapted to be brought into oblique position with respect to the track by which it is supported, a motor winch mounted in fixed position on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearer to one of the rails of said track than to the other, with the winding drum of said winch located on one side of said first mentioned rail, a part rigid with said carriage extending in the direction of said first mentioned rail, and at least four toothed jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed in two pairs one ahead of the other, the two jaws of each pair being located on opposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively, so that two of them come into frictional engagement with said rail when said carriage is oblique to said track.

6. A hauling machine which comprises, in

combination, a railway carriage having two Wheels for running on one of the rails of the track by which it is supported and only one wheel for running on the other rail, whereby said carriage can be brought into oblique position with respect to said track, a motor winch mounted in fixed position on said carriage so as to have its center of gravity nearer to the first mentioned rail than to the other, with the winding drum of said winch located on one side of said first mentioned rail, a part rigid with said carriage extending in the direction of said first mentioned rail, and at least four toothed jaws pivoted to said part about vertical axes disposed in two pairs one ahead of the other, the two jaws of each pair being located on opposite sides of said first mentioned rail respectively so that two of them come into frictional engagement with said rail when said carriage is oblique to said track.

7. A hauling machine for use on a railway track which comprises, in combination, a support adapted to rest on a rail of said track, a winch mounted in fixed position on said support with its winding drum on one side of said rail, and at least two jaws carried by said support on either side of said rail frictionally to engage opposite sides of said rail said jaws being located each at a distance from the axis of said drum, whereby said support is fixed by said jaws with respect to said rail in response to the oblique pulling action of said winch.

BLONDELLE, ABEL Liio CHARLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,405,137 Kuehne et al Jan. 31, 1922 1,521,029 Lobbey Dec. 30, 1924 1,559,965 Jessip Nov.. 3, 1925 1,568,975 Hartwell Jan. 12, 1926 1,592,153 Peterson July 13, 1926 1,772,527 Thompson Aug. 12, 1930 

